Intergenerational Transmission of Attitudes toward Poverty in Israel: A Comparison between Three Generations Families’ of Jewish and Arab Social Work Students

Background: Given that many social workers in fact work with the economically disadvantaged, it may be assumed that their attitudes stem from their academic studies combined with attitudes acquired through intergenerational transmission. The study poses two main questions: 1) what are the attitudes of Israeli social work students, as well as those of their parents and their grandparents towards the causes of poverty? 2) How does each of the three generation’ members approach the question ―what is the best way for the state to deal with the problem of poverty? Methods: The convenient sample consisted of 218 Arab and Jewish families, with three self-report questionnaires per family for the three generations. Results: findings indicated that the majority of participants, in all three generations, considered the socio-structural factor to be the most significant cause of poverty. Similarly, most participants in this study also reported that they preferred that the state expand its welfare program and increase the budgets in order to assist the population in need and thus address the poverty problem.